Human Rights

Local congressmen mourned Monday’s loss of long-time Democratic Rep. Tom Lantos, who served California’s 12th district for more than 27 years. Lantos had decided not to run for re-election in 2008 due to esophageal cancer that ultimately ended his life. A Hungarian immigrant who came to America after enduring the horrors of the Holocaust, Lantos was widely praised by colleagues Monday for his work on human rights and dignity as a 15-term Congressman. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, describing himself as a close personal friend of Lantos, relayed a characteristic anecdote from his early days working as a speechwriter in the Reagan White House.

Rep. Dana Rohrabacher slammed the Bush Administration on Wednesday in response to a U.S. State Department list of human rights violators that did not include China this year. If anything, China is the world’s worst offender on human rights, Rohrabacher said. He condemned the country for its treatment of ethnic and religious minorities like the Falun Gong, Uygurs and Tibetans. Rohrabacher accused the Chinese government of brutal crimes against dissenters. “It is well documented that the Chinese Communist Party murders its political opponents and sells their body parts,” Rohrabacher said.

The Orange Coast Unitarian Universalist Church in Costa Mesa is celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, passed by the United Nations a few years after World War II. The church will host human rights activist and physician Charlie Clements at 2 p.m. Saturday at 1259 Victoria St. Clements will talk about the declaration and the impact it has had on global politics since its passage. Issues of social justice are a cornerstone of the Unitarian Universalist religion.

A champion of human rights who was jailed in a Chinese prison for his views recently received a service award from Rep. Christopher Cox (R-Newport Beach). Cox presented Henry Wu with the "American Century Award," sponsored by the Washington Times Foundation in the nation's capital. Wu was imprisoned for 19 years in China for speaking against the Soviet invasion of Hungary. "Harry Wu has personally endured what most of us cannot even imagine in our worst nightmares," Cox said.

U.S. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher has formed a caucus in the House of Representatives to support Tibetans in the face of China’s crackdowns on unrest in the region. Rohrabacher and Rep. Neil Abercrombie (D-Hawaii) have founded the Tibetan Caucus, which seeks to oppose reported human rights violations by the Chinese government. “We urge you to join the Tibetan Caucus to uphold the rights of the Tibetan people and give a voice to those that the Chinese regime has silenced,” he and Abercrombie wrote in a letter to Congress.

Sue Doyle NEWPORT BEACH -- Human rights activists armed with loudspeakers and flags marched through Newport Beach on Saturday to fight for Tibet's independence from China. "We are in an excellent position to advocate for them outside of the country, where we have free political speech," said Jamie Hunter, a member of the Orange County chapter of the Friends of Tibet. Activists from the Friends of Tibet began the three-week march in San Diego on Memorial Day and will connect in Santa Monica with a second group of protesters who walked down from San Francisco.

Michael Miller Shirin Ebadi, the only Iranian ever to win the Nobel Peace Prize, planted a tree at Friday at UC Irvine to commemorate her receiving the campus's third UCI Citizen Peacebuilding Award. At a small gathering in UCI's Aldrich Park, Ebadi spoke to the crowd in Persian about democracy and human rights in her native country and abroad. After her speech, the laureate assisted in planting a tiny redwood in the ground behind the Social Science Tower.

He started in the Catskills, but since then his credits range to Academy Award heights. And today, comedian Red Buttons will do a "Command Performance" appearance at Orange Coast College's Robert B. Moore Theatre. The 81-year-old stage and screen veteran, who's still known for his skill at roasts, will be joined by vocalist Fran Jeffries and the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra. Now a frequent performer in Las Vegas and Lake Tahoe, won the Oscar for his role in the 1957 film "Sayonara" also hosted his own TV program back in the '50s.

When China won the right to host the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing, there were hopes it would encourage the country to develop a deeper respect for human rights. But with reports that the government is still cracking down on protesters and others seen as threatening the “harmony” of the Games, some view the prospects of human rights reform in China with pessimism. Do you think the Olympics could help foster reform in China, or was it just a mistake and the International Olympic Committee should avoid letting totalitarian regimes host the Summer Games?

The nominations are coming in. As of Friday, Orange County women will cast their final ballots for the ninth annual Clara Barton Spectrum Awards, sponsored by the Orange County Chapter of the American Red Cross. Clearly, recent events give increased significance to this local endeavor. Organizers are working nonstop to ensure a maximum fund-raising effort locally. Lido Isle's Joan Riach is chairing the awards luncheon, set for Oct. 25 at the Hyatt Regency in Irvine.

The threats came quickly. Alix Lambert had only just released a trailer about "Mentor" when she began getting unwanted attention by way of tweets, emails and YouTube messages. The director, nominated for a Writers Guild of America Award for the HBO series "Deadwood," was attempting to raise money to finish producing her latest documentary, but residents of Mentor, Ohio saw things differently. Local students and community members criticized Lambert and insinuated illegal bodily harm, claiming that she was dredging up the past.

Confronted with nearly 600 protesters upset over a proposal to join Irvine in "friendship" with city of Nha Trang in Vietnam, Irvine City Council members Tuesday night voted to revise their rules for choosing cities to be friends with. After more than five hours of debate, the council voted 3 to 2 to draw up new criteria for forming "friendship city" ties. The new rules would exclude municipalities in countries that do not respect human rights or democratic values. They also chose not to enter into "friendship city" relationships with Karachi, Pakistan, or Baoji, China.

SANTA ANA - Prosecutors and defense attorneys both argued free-speech rights Wednesday during opening statements of the criminal trial against 10 Muslim college students accused of plotting to disrupt a speech by the Israeli ambassador to the United States. Prosecutors claimed that the so-called Irvine 11 "shut down" Ambassador Michael Oren, which prevented him from freely exchanging ideas with those who came to hear him speak atUC Irvine. Defense attorneys argued that the students expressed political views in a legal protest and that prosecuting them infringes on their rights.

COSTA MESA — As City Councilman Steve Mensinger strolled across the football field at Estancia High School's Jim Scott Stadium on the morning of April 23, English teacher Joel Flores said he saw an opportunity. Flores, 38, isn't a member of any city employee groups affected by the council's broad outsourcing plan aimed at lowering city costs, but the teacher at Estancia High is as against it as any city worker. "If you're opposed to it, you should say something to your public official," Flores said.

The fortune cookie told the story of my life: “You will step on the soil of many countries.” After cracking open the after-dinner cookie Tuesday, I slipped the piece of paper bearing my fortune into my wallet and forgot about it. My life has been made from the clay of many countries, but little did I know that those foretelling words would come true again the following evening. And I didn’t have to travel far. I drove down Pacific Coast Highway to attend an event at the Laguna Art Museum hosted by a fellow global-minded citizen, Doug Wilson, who was a stranger to me. About 140 people showed up, including some folks from Newport-Mesa, to hear an informal talk by two world human rights experts and to take part in a town hall-like question-and-answer session.

Waving banners with slogans like “Stop killing our people,” participants at a rally at UCI on Saturday gathered to stand against violent government crackdowns on protesters in Iran following elections there. A group of 16 volunteers organized the 12-hour rally in four days after being inspired by throngs of Persian Americans who gathered at major intersections in Orange County last week in support of Iranian protesters. The group calls itself GreeNeda, combining the color green, a symbol for a growing human rights movement for freedom in Iran, and the name Neda, a protester who was shot and killed at a recent rally in Iran.

The Orange Coast Unitarian Universalist Church in Costa Mesa is celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, passed by the United Nations a few years after World War II. The church will host human rights activist and physician Charlie Clements at 2 p.m. Saturday at 1259 Victoria St. Clements will talk about the declaration and the impact it has had on global politics since its passage. Issues of social justice are a cornerstone of the Unitarian Universalist religion.

Chess Records was one of the first successful labels to help create and feature black musicians. Their signed stars included legendary artists like Chuck Berry, Muddy Waters, Howling Wolf and Etta James. Their rhythm and blues sound was the real basis for the rock ’n’ roll hits that propelled Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis and countless others to major stardom in pop music. “Cadillac Records” is the newly released film that provides a docudrama version of the events behind the scenes of this American tale.

When China won the right to host the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing, there were hopes it would encourage the country to develop a deeper respect for human rights. But with reports that the government is still cracking down on protesters and others seen as threatening the “harmony” of the Games, some view the prospects of human rights reform in China with pessimism. Do you think the Olympics could help foster reform in China, or was it just a mistake and the International Olympic Committee should avoid letting totalitarian regimes host the Summer Games?

We pride ourselves on being a free society, but the freedoms we enjoy did not arrive without conflict and struggle. We’ve come so far, yet as far as human rights go, we still have a ways to go. In this country, there are still those who object to giving gay people the basic right to marry the people they love. Human rights versus religion is where the argument continually goes. But isn’t there a separation between church and state? In a world with so much hatred and violence, should we deny love to anyone?